by Kate Johns

Created on: September 22, 2008

Even though the economy is teetering on the edge of recession or possibly worse, and with people losing their jobs and their homes, there are many summer jobs that teens can find in the wink of an eye. With local amusement parks, area stores, parents needing babysitting services, and yard work to be done, there are a plethora of job opportunities waiting to be had by any willing teenager.

BUILD YOUR TEEN'S CONFIDENCE

The first thing a parent should do is bolster your child's confidence. By telling your teen what a great person he or she is and how they can work well with people can be a lifesaver. If your teenager has a special skill, then even better. Have your teen that likes to talk work for a company where she or he can babble away. He may be stellar at working in a store as a saleperson for computers, and cellphones.

CREATE A RESUME

The next thing you need to do is help you child create a resume. A resume can be a teen's very lifeline to a decent summer job. Even if your teen has not had a job before any experience will do. If your teen volunteered for an organization, or your local church, this can be written on the resume under VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE, or WORK EXPERIENCE. If your teenager babysat for his younger siblings, this can be used as work experience also. If your teenager volunteered her time for any youth group or mentored younger kids, this can count as work experience. Any future employer will love that your teen has a strong work ethic, and enjoys working hard.

SPECIAL TRAINING

What can really set your teenager apart from other teens is any special skills he has. Your child may have gone through babysitting classes or lifeguarding classes, and you can use that on her resume, to help get a real job. She could babysit other kids all summer long and make real money. Lifeguarding jobs abound during the summer, and your teen can work at any local, or community pool. The YMCA has indoor pools. Many health clubs, country clubs, and amusement parks have indoor or outdoor pools. Some people are lucky enough to live near a lake or the ocean and your teen can lifeguard at any of these venues.

RECRUITING AT SCHOOL

Amusement parks proliferate by hiring able-bodied teens during the summer. Some still need teens to work for them well into the fall months during the weekends also. Many high schools have a recruiter from local amusement parks come to the school asking teens to work for them during the summer months. Recruiters from other minimum wage jobs also post information in the high schools asking for summer help.

CREATE OWN JOB

Your teenager can create a summer job by starting his own summer business. A teenager can clean up yards, do lawn maintenance, babysit, or take dogs for walks. You can direct your teenager to your older neighbors that need help mowing the lawn, and doing weeding. Many older people want their yards to look great, but can't do the work anymore. Your teen could plant flowers for the residences of your street for a certain pre-arranged fee. A teenager can create his own website, write for it, sell advertising locally and make money all from the comfort of his home. Teens who are very technically savvy and can create websites for area businesses and make a lot of money.

A teenager just needs a parent to be understanding, and give that gentle nudge to employment. Many teens have skills they never knew existed and you just might have to tell them what they can do. If all else fails, you can tell them that they will be earning enough money to buy a new cellphone, or a new computer.

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